New products help PepsiCo inch past revenue estimates

PepsiCo reported slightly better-than-expected quarterly revenue, helped by strong demand for Frito-Lay snacks and new beverages in North America.

New drinks such as Propel flavored water and Naked Cold Pressed juice, and snacks under its "Simply" brand helped drive sales, the company said.

Net income attributable to PepsiCo rose to $2.01 billion, or $1.38 per share, in the second quarter ended June 11, from $1.98 billion, or $1.33 per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, profits for the beverage giant came in at $1.35 a share.

Net revenue in the North America Beverages unit, the company's biggest business, rose 1 percent - the slowest growth since the company started breaking out beverage sales from the region a year ago.

"It is a very volatile environment and we've gotten used to that. We think that's going to be the case going forward," Hugh Johnston, the company's CFO, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday.

Revenue from the Frito-Lay business, which includes Doritos, Lay's and the Simply line of snacks, rose 3 percent. New snacks launched under the Simply brand included Simply Tostitos black bean chips and Simply Tostitos organic chunky medium salsa.

"The snack business certainly outperformed the beverage business. Now, keep in mind that Pepsi's quarter ended June 11 and we had really bad weather in the U.S. in April and May, which really weighed on beverage volumes, pretty much industry wide, but June recovered very nicely," Nik Modi, managing director at RBC Capital Markets, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday.

"These guys have done a pretty good job in this environment," he said.